CHISNALL EYES PROTOUR GLORY

By Aaron Nijjar

DAVE CHISNALL is bidding to win his first title of 2025 next week on the ProTour.

‘Chizzy’ is hoping to rediscover the form that saw him win the Players Championship Six in Germany last year and kickstart his season.

World No. 9 Chisnall was knocked out in the quarter-final of the Belgium Open last week by Luke Littler losing 6-4.

Despite taking a commanding 4-2 lead, Chisnall was unable to close out the match as Littler hit a spectacular ‘Big Fish’ finish to swing the momentum.

Chisnall still took positives from his performances against ‘The Nuke’ on the EuroTour.

He told Kwiff: “That boy Luke Littler can chuck. I’ve been saying it for over a year – you don’t need me to tell you how good he is.

“It was both good and bad I suppose, with that sort of form and performance showing that it’s still there, despite the disappointment of the result.

“If I had beaten Luke, I think I would have gone on to lift the trophy. But if my Aunty had bollocks she would be my uncle so ifs don’t mean anything in this game.”

The St Helens thrower traveled straight to Leicester for the Players Championship Five and Six but failed to make it past the last 64.

Six-time major finalist Chisnall lost despite a stunning 106 average against Dom Taylor on Tuesday and then suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat to Niko Springer the following day.

The 44-year-old is making altercations to his throw in the hope of picking a maiden title up this year.

He said: “It’s hard to explain, but the first dart is going too high, and I have to switch. I’ve tried messing around with my throw, but it doesn’t work.

“The weird thing is, I end up seeing the bottom of my flight when I hold the dart. It catches the corner of my eye and I end up losing concentration.

“Annoyingly, it never happens in practice, only when I’m out there, so I don’t know what’s causing it. It’s not like a golfer, who can go and see a swing coach, or a tennis player, who goes and see a coach.

“Only I know how to throw my darts and I will just have to work on and find a way of fixing.”

Chisnall remains optimistic about his chances next week on the ProTour in Hildesheim. The German venue holds fond memories for him, as it was here last year that he overcame similar inconsistency to claim the title.

He added: “Hildesheim brings back good memories; I was in similar form this time last year, a bit inconsistent, and came here and won to kickstart my season so fingers crossed history repeats itself this week.

“I do think my game is in good nick, especially when the first dart goes into Treble 20, it’s just getting that more regular and hitting doubles more often when it matters.

“March and then April is extremely busy, with lots of Pro Tour and Euro Tour action, and I’d be a bit disappointed to not have something to put on the mantelpiece by the end of April.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.